Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi all
I have a daughter of 13. She started her periods at 9 years old Which she has managed incredibly well. Mainly due to the fact that sanitary pads come in coloured envelopes I think and she enjoys choosing the ‘pad of the moment’.
her behaviour has been sporadically aggressive over the years, mainly towards me (her Mum), other family members rarely and sometimes at school. Mainly since the change in her body and her hitting puberty. She is now taking 5ml Fluoxetine.. which has really helped with her behaviour. She has historically bitten her wrist from an early age. When she is upset she does it harder until it bleeds sometimes. I’d like to ask if any other parents have this sort of experience with teenage children and how they manage it or if there are any tools I can use. Daisy understands where she is going and what is happening and gets to be part of the decision process where possible but I’ve really noticed over the last couple months a difference down to her adolescence which any teenager would experience but without her being able to ver alise it, it makes it really difficult to read the signs and support her. May I also add that she has a REALLY strong character.
last week there was an incident where she wanted to go into a toy shop and I wanted to go into the supermarket which ended in her banging her head on shop glass, the floor of the street, biting herself and trying to attack me.. ending in her going into said shop where she calmed down and was given a toy by the owners. I realis I’mrambling but my questions are:
I think it’s really important to look at what is happening with her hormones primarily .. surely this must majorly influence her behaviour? Any advice anyone please?
How do you deal with this aggression? how do you approach the subject later?how are we able as parents o put down boundaries? I do not believe it’s right that her expectation is she is bought something every time we go out for instance.
Any advice and help would be hugely appreciated. Thank you so much!!!
Jackie
I'm not a parent so can't comment on that but in terms of teenage hormonal influence, my first suggestion would be period tracking. Autistic people can be more sensitive to the changing hormones throughout the menstrual cycle, we report more pain, and we're much more likely to experience PMDD than other people are. If your daughter isn't able to tell you how she's feeling then it's even more difficult for her so I think keeping track of when she's on her period would help to identify whether it's affecting her behaviour.
It's great that she's handling the practical aspects of it so well though! Puberty can be a really difficult time for autistic kids (as it is for lots of other people) so anything that makes it a bit easier is a huge bonus.
Hi. Thanks so much for your reply. Yes, I have been monitoring her period cycle for just under a year. Ovulation affects her and also just before her actual period but the last couple months are different. I had read that she may be more likely to experience PMDD and it’s quite hard to gauge whether she is in pain although she would normally let me know by one word comments or touching her head or stomach. I really feel it would be good to have a blood test to see exactly what is going on hormonally for her. Thanks so much!
(This isn't medical advice, btw- it's just handy to know if your period affects your mood)